W.E. A.L.L. B.E.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Sis. Susan Klopfer: A Crusader For Justice...

Sis. Susan Klopfer

Originally Appeared At This Link:
http://www.fwdailynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5259:Former-area-author-revisits-civil-rights-cases&catid=101:terry-housholder&Itemid=136

Former Area Author Revisits Civil Rights Cases
By Terry Housholder
Fort Wayne Daily News

Sunday, 11 October 2009

Susan Klopfer believes the long, sad chapter of American history surrounding the civil rights struggles of African Americans should never be forgotten. Using her journalistic talents, she’s authored two books focused on unsolved atrocities in the Mississippi Delta region that have brought new light to several cases.

The former Kendallville resident now living Mount Pleasant, Iowa, is a writer and blogging journalist. A Hanover College graduate who received her M.B.A. from Indiana Wesleyan University, she’s been a newspaper reporter and an acquisitions and development editor for Prentice-Hall.

Klopfer, whose husband, Fred, is a psychologist, has authored several non-fiction books in the past, including a computer book for Prentice-Hall, “Abort! Retry! Fail!” that was an alternate selection for the Book-of-the-Month Club. She’s now marketing two books she wrote while living in the Mississippi Delta: “Where Rebels Roost: Mississippi Civil Rights Revisited,” and “The Emmett Till Book.”

Klopfer lived two years in Mississippi and was fascinated when meeting interesting people who were part of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. They inspired her to collect their stories and to do extensive research and writing over a 23-month period.

“Every time I turned around, I was running into people who wanted to talk about what they knew, about what happened during the civil rights years,” Klopfer said. “Many had relatives who were killed or disappeared. I started working like crazy because I was excited about what I was discovering and learning.”

Klopfer said she read several hundred books, dissertations and reports. She visited every regional, state and university library and archives in Mississippi, looking for materials. She found volumes more on the Internet. She also read a number of documented oral histories and interviewed people with incredible stories to tell.

The tragic story of Emmett Till is one of the most fascinating she’s researched. Till was the 14-year-old African American polio victim from Chicago, Ill., who was murdered in Money, Miss., a small town in the Delta region, on Aug. 28, 1955, after reportedly whistling at a white woman.

The murder was one of the leading events that led to the growing civil rights movement in the nation. Till was beaten, had an eye gouged out, and was shot through the head. His body, with a 70-pound cotton gin fan tied to it with barbed wire, was found in the Tallahatchie River.

Till’s mother, grieved by the brutality of the killing, insisted on a public funeral, with an open casket. Nearly 50,000 people viewed the body. The main suspects in the case were acquitted by an all-male, all-white jury after 67 minutes of deliberations.

In her research, Klopfer met an attorney who was born the same year as Till, in the same Delta town where Till was murdered. The attorney was the first black law student at the University of Mississippi. He had been highly influenced by the Till murder and spent years investigating it and other civil rights murders.

“His papers disappeared six months following his murder (in 1997) and few friends and family in Mississippi want to talk about him or what happened,” Klopfer said. “Some are ashamed because he was gay. Others seem just don’t know the ‘official’ story has so many holes. His best friend in Alabama may have been murdered three years before he was.”

Klopfer said the most interesting information she uncovered in her research was the story of two teachers who were apparently murdered in 1966. They were targeted by the Ku Klux Klan for their activist roles in promoting voter registration after the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The women were run off the road on their way home from a meeting in Jackson, Miss. “There was no police report,” said Klopfer. “These murders were not investigated… A family member came to me and asked me to look into it because something wasn’t right.

“I was most surprised when discovering the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission,” she said. “It was a spy agency funded by the state from 1955 to 1972 to halt integration. Former military intelligence and FBI agents were hired and they, in turn, used the services of the Klan as enforcers. I was able to go through these papers and trace a money trail to an East Coast foundation that gave money to Mississippi to fight the Civil Rights Act and to fund private, segregated academies in Mississippi. Even today, few Mississippians know this history.

“I feel very obligated to tell these stories, of true civil rights heroes who have lost their lives,” she said.

Everything she collects is shared with other professionals. An investigative organization for which she is a senior investigator keeps all the records and data she collects. “I keep no secrets,” she said.

Klopfer says the reaction to her books (available at Amazon.com) about the civil rights issues in Mississippi has ranged from “interest to anger.” She’s enjoyed giving away free copies on CDs to people in the Delta region whose families have been affected over the years.

“This history is not taught — much of it has not been collected,” she said.

Anger has come from some officials and some academics who don’t want to see these stories told or who believe they should be telling them, rather than Klopfer. “Sometimes the competition and ownership issues get a little silly,” she added.

Klopfer has been blogging her newest book, “Who Killed Emmett Till?” at emmett-till.blogspot.com and she is set to turn it into an e-book next week. She soon will turn to writing a book about “writing books in today’s digital/Internet environment.” And she’s working to find more information on the FBI agent who was possibly killed because he knew too much about the assassination of President Kennedy.

But telling the untold stories of the civil rights movement remains dear to her. “In Mississippi, it’s said ‘the past is the present.’ And it was and still is.”

Contact An American Civil Rights Veteran Today:
http://www.crmvet.org/

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio Special~Susan Klopfer: Blogging For Justice & History For Emmett Till & The Mississippi Delta...Using 21st Century Technology To Get Justice & Archive History For 20th Century Atrocities In The Mississippi Delta...

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2009/08/20/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio

Blackonomics: Do The Right Thing.

Blackonomics
Doing The Right Thing

By: James Clingman 10/07/09

You know, some of our Black owned business owners and Black consumers really “get it.” They fully recognize and understand the importance of mutual support and the seriousness of our economic position in this country. Even more importantly, they act upon those realities by using their businesses and their consumer power as catalysts for positive change and empowerment among African Americans. Why do they do this? Simply because it’s the right thing to do.

Although there are many examples that I could share, here are two that are exemplary of what it means to do the right thing when it comes to economic empowerment. On the business side, we have Compro-Tax, Inc. (www.comprotax.net), headquartered in Beaumont, Texas, and with 220 local offices throughout the country. On the consumer side, we have John and Maggie Anderson’s Empowerment Experiment: (www.eefortomorrow.com). This Oak Park, Illinois, family made a one year (January 1, 2009 – December 31, 2009) pledge to live off purchases made at Black owned businesses.

Having known Compro-Tax founder, Jackie Mayfield, for several years, and having witnessed the growth of his company in conjunction with Jackie’s consciousness-raising efforts and his willingness to create opportunities for other entrepreneurs, to say I am impressed with this firm is an understatement.

I attended the grand opening of the Compro Event Center in Beaumont in December 2008, during the 9th annual Cultural and Economic Seminar, and I plan to attend this year on November 20-21, 2009. This event is one of the most productive economic conferences in the country, and now it is held the Black designed, Black constructed, Black wired-for-technology, Black catered, and Black owned and operated Convention Center. See www.weareonepower.com to register for the event, or call 490 840 6338.

Through its dedication to empowerment, Compro-Tax has not only done well for itself, it has also created numerous business opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs, even to the extent that several have become millionaires after opening their local offices. That opportunity exists for you right now, if you would like to start and grow a recession-proof business. Check out Compro-Tax, Inc. It’s a great company!

Understanding the importance of Black consumers supporting Black businesses, as well as recognizing that empowerment comes from self-help economics, the John and Maggie Anderson have put an end to the rhetoric and lip-service; they are “walking the talk,” as we like to say. Their efforts during 2009 have brought an enormous amount of attention to the fact that Black people can, if we so desire, do much more than we have been doing when it comes to our own economic empowerment.

The Anderson’s are demonstrating the positive effects of self-love; they care enough about their children’s perception of our people to do the right thing by supporting Black businesses. Their celebration of and advocacy for Black owned businesses have started a much-needed economic movement across this country. It’s called the Empowerment Experiment (EE). Their proactive initiative, grounded in their acknowledgment of the unacceptable conditions that exist in Black neighborhoods, has created a groundswell of support and involvement in other cities, by other families who have pledged to do the same as the Anderson’s are doing.

As so-called political conservatives have said for decades, “Blacks should start doing more for themselves; they should take care of their own problems.” Well, John and Maggie Anderson are promoting exactly that, despite the fact that some of those same “conservatives” are responding by calling the Anderson’s “racists” and “separatists.” How silly is that?

Undeterred, this family continues to follow through on its pledge and to date, according to their website, they have spent $53, 453.74 with Black businesses thus far in 2009. I say to them, “Kudos, and much appreciation for doing the right thing.” I say to my readers, “Did you EE today?”

Now here is the exciting part about this: Compro-Tax and the Empowerment Experiment will be together at this year’s Cultural and Economic Seminar. That’s right; Maggie Anderson will speak at the event, which will also include Amefika Geuka, who walked 1,069 miles in support of African centered education; Master Teacher, Chike Akua; Networking Guru, George Fraser, and Tag Team Marketing Executive, Delxino Wilson de Briano. You need to be there too.

I am so proud of Compro-Tax and the Anderson’s, the perfect examples of Black businesses and Black consumers simply doing the right thing, not for self-aggrandizement, not for accolades, not for recognition, but simply because it’s the right thing to do.

MORE ABOUT PROFESSOR JAMES CLINGMAN
Former Editor of the Cincinnati Herald Newspaper, Clingman is the founder of the Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce, and has been instrumental in establishing several other Chambers of Commerce around the country, as he continues to promote economic freedom for African Americans. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Cincinnati, where he teaches Black Entrepreneurship; he also founded Cincinnati, Ohio’s Entrepreneurship High School in 2001.

His speeches have stirred thousands of conferees and his newspaper articles are sought after by subscribers across the United States and abroad. Mr. Clingman is available for your speaking engagement. You can reach him at (513) 489-4132 or by e-mail at the link that follows ….. Email Clingman for more information.

Clingman’s economic empowerment doctrine stresses consumer education and alliances among African Americans. He offers a refreshing view of the potential within this nation’s Black communities.

A Perfectly Well-Deserved 2009 Nobel Peace Prize...

Loeb/Getty

“The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

“Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.”

“For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama's appeal that "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."
The Norwegian Nobel Committee - Oslo, October 9, 2009

“And I know that throughout history, the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes. And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action -- a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century.” President Barack Hussein Obama, 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Winner – Washington DC, October 9, 2009

Congratulations Mr. President Barack Obama, on winning the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. Indeed Mr. President, by all accounts, you fully deserve this Most Prestigious Prize of International Recognition for your life and great accomplishments.

Mr. President, your life is a tribute to the tenacity and resilience of the human spirit. It is seen in the fatherless young man who decided to turn his life around, go on to graduate from two Ivy League universities, and was elected President of the Harvard Law Review, a first for an African-American.

Your life has been dedicated to human rights, civil rights, women’s rights, the welfare of children, the fair treatment of the citizenry by the police, good healthcare and education for all, a clean environment, equitable economic opportunities, and countless other issues of justice, peace and fairness, as seen in your work as community organizer, lawyer and teacher.

Your life has been dedicated to world peace, as seen in your continuous efforts towards non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and disarmament as United States Senator.

Your life has been dedicated to the promotion of better understanding between people of different cultures and philosophies, dedicated to patience and compassion, as seen in your civil treatment of friends and foes alike, in your conduct of world diplomacy and your re-branding of the United States’ relationship with the rest of the world.

Furthermore Mr. President, you single-handedly generated a never-before-seen, wholesale and worldwide, emotional and political excitement in the hearts of all people. You captivated the whole world’s attention as just about everyone, in all countries, cities and villages in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Europe and the Americas, was anxiously and feverishly praying and working hard for you to win the Presidency of the United States of America.

The scope, scale and depth of such unanimous, positive, infectious and powerful reaction to a political candidate of any country, at any time in history, were absolutely unprecedented.

Never before had any political candidate generated such universal, unapologetic and unbridled adoration, excitement and support.

Your extraordinary charisma, perfect composure, magnificent oratory, brilliant intellect, sincere compassion, the loving support of your gorgeous family and Harvard educated wife First Lady Michelle Obama, the disastrous eight years before your election, and the impeccable timing of your candidacy, all played a major role in creating this Obama phenomenon, as it is called. So did the state of today’s communications technology, which allowed everyone, in every remote corner of the world to see you, hear you, and fall in love with you and your irresistible message of hope and change.

Finally Mr. President, among the many more reasons you deserve this 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, the simplest and most compelling one of all stands out. You, Mr. President, an African-American man and the son of an African immigrant from Kenya, were successful in winning the Presidency of the United States of America through your own vision, discipline, fortitude, and achievement.

By seeking that highest of positions, Mr. President, you carried with you the very breath and hopes of not only African-Americans and freedom-loving people, but that of all the peoples of the world who saw in you the very incarnation of the hope and the change they so desperately wanted to see in their own countries and in their own lives.

Mr. President, your brilliantly-run campaign and your glorious victory in the 2008 Presidential Election powerfully symbolized a clean break from the near 400 years of enslavement of African people in the Americas. You truly changed the world, and you propelled it into a brand new era. You changed history. You changed the lives of the people around the world who realized that if this could happen in the United States of America, everything else was also possible. Yes they could. Yes we can.

This kind of singular, highly significant, and transformative feat and its profound impact on the future of the world would alone be sufficiently deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Mr. President Barack Obama, you have achieved that, and so much more.

Congratulations Sir, Mr. President, for a perfectly well-deserved 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

New York, October 9, 2009

Paule-Sylvie Yonke

The whole World for Obama
Balafon Communications Group
The Global African Experience
Cameroonian Community of America
African Day Parade and Festival

Paule-Sylvie Yonké
Balafon/The Global African experience
News, Events, People, History, Business, Arts and Culture
347-879-6107

See Also...

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio Special: Pres. Obama A.K.A. Mr. Tough Love & The Myth Of A Post-Racial America Part One
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2009/07/23/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News & Radio Special:Reflections On The 2009 Inauguration Part One:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2009/01/23/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News & Radio Special: Yes He Did...So Now What??? Defining The Obama Presidency...
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2008/11/16/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News & Radio Special:O Yes We Did!!! The Barack Obama Tribute...
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2008/11/09/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News & Radio Special: Barack Obama & The Hip Hop Effect On American Politics:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2008/02/10/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-Radio

~~~~~~

Get The Barack Obama Holiday Inaugural Gift Package By R2C2H2 Tha Artivist!!!

http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2008/12/get-barack-obama-holiday-inaugural-gift.html

ANGOLA 3 APPEAL DENIED!

Angola 3's Herman Wallace

Please note that the remaining Angola 3 Political Prisoners have not only been unjustly imprisoned, but have been inhumanely held in SOLITARY CONFINEMENT for almost four decades, and that Bro. Herman is now enduring even more severe forms of specialized TORTURE at nearly 70 years of age! We MUST make our political prisoners a top agenda item across all organizational/spiritual or other belief systems and programs, we need to very seriously implement a program of consistent and persistent actions to save the lives of our freedom fighters! -- Sis. M.
--------------

From: Freedom Archives
--------------

Angola 3 Appeal Denied
By James Ridgeway | Fri October 9, 2009 7:25 PM PST

The Louisiana State Supreme Court Friday denied an appeal from Herman Wallace, who has been held in solitary confinement for more than 37 years. Wallace and Albert Woodfox are members of what has become known as the Angola 3, whose story has been covered extensively by Mother Jones. Convicted of the 1972 murder of a prison guard at the notorious Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, both men maintain their innocence; they believe they were targeted for the crime and relegated to permanent lockdown because of their organizing work with the prison chapter of the Black Panthers. Wallace, who is now 68 years old, was recently transferred from Angola to the Hunt Correctional Center near Baton Rouge, where he continues to be held in solitary. Two days ago, Wallace descended even deeper into the hole, placed in a disciplinary unit called Beaver 5 for unknown violations of prison policy.

Herman Wallace launched the appeal of his conviction nearly a decade ago. His lawyers have introduced substantial evidence showing that the state’s star witness, a fellow prisoner named Hezekiah Brown, was offered special treatment and an eventual pardon in exchange for his testimony against Wallace and Woodfox. In 2006, a judicial commissioner assigned to study the case found that there were grounds for overturning the conviction, but Wallace’s application was subsequently denied--by the state district court, court of appeals, and now by the Louisiana Supreme Court.

While every setback comes as a blow to a man nearing 70 who has spent nearly four decades in lockdown, one of Wallace’s attorneys said tonight that this denial by the state’s highest court came as no surprise, since it has a reputation for refusing to overturn the decisions of lower courts. Today’s ruling opens the doors to a federal habeas corpus challenge, beginning with the Federal District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana at Baton Rouge. Here, if Wallace is lucky, his case will be reviewed by a fact-finding federal magistrate, and his conviction overturned by a federal judge. This is what happened to Albert Woodfox last year. Yet Woodfox, too, remains in prison--and in solitary confinement--as the state appeals the judge’s decision.

Louisiana’s Attorney General, James “Buddy” Caldwell, has stated that he opposes releasing the two men “with every fiber of my being,” while the Warden of Angola and Hunt prisons, Burl Cain, has more than once suggested that the two men must be held in solitary because they ascribe to “Black Pantherism.” In addition to their criminal appeals, Wallace and Woodfox (along with Robert King, who was released in 2001), have a case pending on constitutional grounds. They argue that the conditions and duration of their time in solitary confinement constitute cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment, and that they are being held there for their political beliefs, in violation of the First Amendment.

Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

415 863-9977

www.Freedomarchives.org Questions and comments may be sent to claude@freedomarchives.org.

*W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio*

Living In A Police State, Surviving On A Prison Planet Part One:
"The Angola 3's Robert King Wilkerson Interview"
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2009/09/24/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

10/1 Scott Sisters Update From Sis. Marpessa...

Listen To The W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio Special:
All Eyes Are Still On Mississippi: Free The Scott Sisters!!!
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2009/09/17/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio

The Scott Sisters (l-r): Jamie & Gladys

Jamie Scott of the Scott Sisters continues to have all of the privileges revoked that she earned over almost 15 yrs. of unjust incarceration simply for going into the gym to use the bathroom without authorization. She remains isolated from all activities within the prison. Despite her efforts to seek relief, she has been unable to regain those privileges due to harassment from Deputy Warden Winkel. Jamie has been a model inmate in every aspect of prison life with no write-ups for all of these years. In fact, Vocational Education Director, Pat Owen, wrote of Jamie's work as a tutor in the literacy program: "Inmate Scott has proven herself to be dependable, hard working, and conscientious. She has demonstrated much patience and compassion in working with lower-level students. Her work at the school has been exemplary."
++++++++++++++

9/09 -- JAMIE SCOTT SPEAKS about the circumstances surrounding the removal of her privileges and transfer to a more punitive building.

I have been on the grounds of CMCF for 15 years. Everyone thinks when you come to prison, you come to be rehabilitated. Well, that's a lie. Policy 20-05 states we are not to be discriminated against. Let's be real. Policy is a joke around here. All staff members are not low down and abusive with their authority but many are.

Things happen here and the inmate is not always at fault, but we are the ones who get punished for it. The reason I know this is I was locked down on June 23 for being in an unauthorized area. Now, this area was the gym, a place that was supposed to be locked. I was locked down for 23 days and received an RVR after 22 days. Policy 18-01-01 says that you have 24 hours to write a rule violation report after an incident happens. On my detention notice, it clearly states that Warden Winkel observed me in the gym. She locked me down and served me the RVR after 22 days had passed stating, "Upon completion of the investigation, it was determined I, Jamie Scott, was in an unauthorized area," but this was determined on June 23, 2009 at 5:20 p.m. Deputy Winkel used her position and authority to pay me back for an incident that happened when she was under investigation. She made me do 23 days in lock down, took away my custody level and took away any job I had. Many inmates have gone to lock down for worse offenses, came back out, and went back to the school and to work.

Commissioner Christopher Epps has no clue what really goes on. When he visits the prison, they cover a lot of things up so he won't find out. The gym is supposed to be for us, the inmates, but we have not had gym call in months. It's not because the Director, Richard Caston, won't let us, but because some of the staff use the gym to exercise, for their personal use.

I was wrong for being in the gym, I admit that. I deserve to be treated fairly like the next offender. Policy is supposed to apply to all inmates and staff. I did 23 days in lock down, but to take my custody level down and then tell staff members I can't work anymore is just too much. I have no history of disciplinary problems through all of these years. I have even been banned from Choir practice and the Tour Speaking Group. The Deputy Warden and Lt. Burton have ordered the supervisor to terminate me from the church. Policy 20-05-01 states that inmates have a right not to be discriminated against and that staff will not subject offenders from personal abuse or harassment [4-4281].

Jamie Scott #19197
CMCF2/A-Bldg.
B Zone, Bed 196
P.O. Box 88550
Pearl, MS 39288-8550
++++++++++++++++++

Please contact the following officials and ask that Jamie Scott's full privileges be reinstated, this punishment is excessive and is part of a campaign of harassment which has been going on for far too long now! She has suffered medical and emotional setbacks and her sister, Gladys, is also extremely upset as a result of this unfair targeting. Please share any responses that you receive, thank you!

Margaret Bingham, Superintendent of Central Mississippi Corrections Facility
(601) 932-2880
mbingham@mdoc.state.ms.us
FAX: (601) 664-0782
P.O. Box 88550
Pearl, Mississippi 39208

Christopher Epps, Commissioner of Prisons for the State of Mississippi
601-359-5600
CEPPS@mdoc.state.ms.us
723 North President Street
Jackson, MS 39202

Emmitt Sparkman, Deputy Commissioner
(601) 359-5610
esparkman@mdoc.state.ms.us

Governor Haley Barbour
1-877-405-0733 or 601-359-3150

These politicians also need to receive information on the Scott Sisters because they are among their constituents:

Congressman Bennie Thompson
Washington, D.C. Office
2432 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-5876
(202) 225-5898 (Fax)

Jackson, Mississippi Office
3607 Medgar Evers Blvd
Jackson, MS 39213
(601) 946-9003
(601)-982-5337 (Fax)

Congressman Alcee L. Hastings
Washington Office
2353 Rayburn Office Building
Washington D.C. 20515
Tel: (202) 225-1313
Fax: (202) 225-1171

Congressman Jeff Miller
Washington D.C.
2439 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4136
Fax: (202) 225-3414
Toll Free Phone Number to District Office
Pensacola, Florida
Phone: 866-367-1614

We continue to stress the need for a pro bono attorney for the women, legal guidance and representation is desperately needed as none currently exists. Many organizations have been contacted multiple times in the past and perhaps it will be YOUR letter or phone call to the Innocence Project, the ACLU, NAACP, etc., that will garner the positive response that we have not been able to obtain to date!

MISSISSIPPI INJUSTICE: In a trial fraught with legal malpractice and witness coercion, Mississippi Judge Marcus Gordon oversaw one of the most blatantly corrupt trials in history, culminating in the staggering over-sentencing of sisters Gladys and Jamie Scott to double-life each in a robbery that they did not participate in, where no one was murdered or harmed, and the amount alleged to have been taken was a whopping $11.00.

Please visit and link to: http://www.freethescottsisters.blogspot.com
Subscribe to the listserve: Send a blank e-mail to FREETHESCOTTSISTERS-subscribe@topica.com and keep up with all of the latest information!
Facebook Group: Free The Scott Sisters

'Last Rent Party' Held In Honor Of Stride Master James P. Johnson, Gets Tombstone For His Resting Place...

October 6, 2009
Music Review
Raising Roof And Headstone For Pioneering Pianist
By BEN RATLIFF Of The New York Times

Originally Appeared @ This Link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/arts/music/06rent.html?_r=1

A definition of righteousness: about 75 people, crammed into the West Village club Smalls, watching a series of pianists play James P. Johnson on a grand piano in a benefit concert to buy a headstone for his grave.

Like all the other stride-piano soloists of the teens and 1920s, Johnson has been lodged in a historical second tier, probably because he’s not known for band music and didn’t tour sufficiently.

But he’s the truest passageway from pre-jazz to jazz-as-we-know-it. He was a pioneering and powerful solo pianist, a composer of short sketches (including “The Charleston,” his era-defining hit, and “Carolina Shout,” his finger-buster étude) and extended orchestral works.

Duke Ellington learned “Carolina Shout” from a piano roll and finally met Johnson at a concert in Washington in 1921. Afterward they stayed out until 10 a.m. “What I absorbed on that occasion,” Ellington wrote later, “might, I think, have constituted a whole semester in a conservatory.” He homed in on Johnson’s strong, grounding swing and sweet, splashing melodies; to link Scott Joplin and Ellington — or even Joplin and Thelonious Monk — you need to put Johnson between them.

Johnson died in 1955 fairly isolated after four years of illness, and his body lies in an unmarked grave in Maspeth, Queens. The spot was found in February by Scott Brown, a Johnson scholar, and the idea was hatched for “James P. Johnson’s Last Rent Party,” a daylong blowout of Johnsonia at Smalls on Sunday, with historical talks and performances.

The day ended with five hours of solo piano — by 12 performers — and a little bit of four-hands playing. Unlike the Harlem rent parties Johnson used to play, it wasn’t remotely a competition. Though several pianists wrestled with the same material (especially the charging “Carolina Shout”), the emphasis was not on besting one another but on beneficially knocking the tunes around, treating fairly neglected music like common repertory.

Ethan Iverson, the pianist from the Bad Plus, announced that the beginning of his set would be “classical”: an earnest shot at Johnson’s style. He played “Carolina Shout” with sensitivity and clarity, keeping the stride rhythm steady in the left hand. Then he went off into his own updated, posteverything style, full of explicit dissonance, repetition and strange dynamics.

“The Charleston” was his killer: it started with deliberately messy tone rows, his two hands playing at cross-purposes, the left staccato and slow, the right flowing and medium-tempo. Inevitably, and with humor, he finished in the song’s proper style.

Mike Lipskin, a pianist based in San Francisco who studied with the stride pianist Willie (The Lion) Smith, played stride-piano songs as if they were his drinking buddies: his versions of Johnson’s “It Takes Love to Cure the Heart’s Disease” and Luckey Roberts’s “Pork and Beans” were rowdy and familiar, and he made Johnson’s “If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight)” mellifluous and lovely, smiling at the audience rather than monitoring the difficult variations in his left-hand stride patterns.

The evening’s revelation was Aaron Diehl, a pianist in his mid-20s who has played with Wynton Marsalis and Wycliffe Gordon. His style, on “Scaling the Blues,” “Over the Bars” and the second movement of Johnson’s “Jazzamine Concerto,” was modest, secure and insinuating, with an iron sense of time. A few different pianists worked in their own tunes as Johnson tributes; Mr. Diehl’s was a slow, gorgeous blues.

Ted Rosenthal and Dick Hyman closed the night. They performed some pieces together at the keyboard, including “Twilight Rag”; then Mr. Hyman, one of the world’s great specialists in early jazz piano, performed Johnson’s music with well-practiced dynamic shifts, elegant and sometimes a bit too showy for the circumstances. But complaining is pointless. Mr. Hyman smoothly played the entire 10-minutes-plus solo-piano version of Johnson’s “Yamekraw,” a rhapsody with classical flourishes and stride interjections. Who else does that?

Copyright 2009 The New York Times

Community Mourns Death Of Derrion Albert...

(l)Many of Derrion's friends and classmates wore clothing to mark his memory. (r) The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan speaking at the location where Derrion Albert was entombed on Oct. 3. Seated is Derrion's mother An-Janette Albert.

Featured Report
By Ashahed M. Muhammad -Assistant Editor-
The Final Call

Story Originally Appeared @ This Link:
http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/frontpageFeaturedArticle/article_6485.shtml

Updated Oct 5, 2009

Slain Teen Laid To Rest, Unanswered Questions Remain

Derrion's grandfather Joseph Walker, overcome by grief, crying over his grandson's casket at the entombment.

CHICAGO (FinalCall.com) - The body of 16-year-old high school honor student Derrion Albert was laid to rest on October 3 following a somber funeral at Greater Mt. Hebron Baptist church on Chicago's Southside.

Many of Derrion's friends and classmates joined the procession past his casket with tears in their eyes as they looked into his face one last time.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, speaking at the funeral, told the mourners that “God is the giver of life and He is the ultimate cause of death.” While it is natural to question why God would take this young man, his death allows us to see the “horror of the senseless violence” in the streets of Chicago, he said.

“His death is a call to action!” said Min. Farrakhan. “This was a special young man of righteous bearing, whom God took from us so young, but may I remind you dear beloved followers of Jesus the Christ; he too was a young man. He too was a victim of mob violence, he too was special and because he was not a wicked person, his righteous life became the redemptive power for all of humanity,” said Min. Farrakhan.

Min. Farrakhan said while some may consider Black youth “unsalvageable” and though they may appear to be lost in the eyes of some, all are redeemable, no matter how horrible they are acting at the present time.

“Whenever you get to thinking that our children are unsalvageable then death and destruction is called down upon that which you believe can never be redeemed,” said Min. Farrakhan. “How can you say that Jesus saves? Is he powerless to save our children? How can you say that he is a redeemer and then look at the condition of our people and then think that it is hopeless?”

Min. Farrakhan encouraged the clergy, school administrators and others to go after the “lost sheep” that appear to be irretrievable.

“I ask, in the name of Derrion, who among us will go after that which is lost and bring it back to us? I believe all of our people can be saved,” said Min. Farrakhan.

Questions Still Unanswered

Many questions remain unanswered as more details emerge providing insight into the circumstances that led to the melee Sept. 24 which resulted in Derrion's death and serious injuries to four others.

One question asked by students and parents: Could it have been prevented?

Several students who asked not to be identified told The Final Call that the day Derrion was beaten to death, word circulated around the high school's hallways that a huge fight was going to take place after school. In fact, earlier that morning, there had been gun shots fired outside the high school. Then, around lunchtime, students said another fight broke out between two boys from rival neighborhoods that was related to the earlier shooting.

Students say the shooting and the mid-day skirmish led to the subsequent brawl that claimed Derrion's life, and police and school officials should have done more to prevent it.

“Everyone knew something was about to go down,” said a 16-year-old girl who was one of Derrion's classmates. “No disrespect to the police, but they were not on the job, and the security guards saw what was about to go down and turned the other way and went back to the school.”

Parents and students in the area surrounding Fenger High School said there exists a long-standing feud—almost two decades old—between those who live directly in the high school's neighborhood, called “The Ville” in Roseland, and students who attend the school from the Altgeld Gardens housing projects.

Andreia Dominick, 16, said violence is nothing new at Fenger.

“This has been going on over a long period of time at Fenger, two different neighborhoods getting into it. But I guess they thought it would never get to the point where someone got killed. Everybody knows there is a lot of violence at Fenger, and they fight all of the time,” said Ms. Dominick who lived a few doors down from Derrion, went to grade school with him and would often see him on the way home. Ms. Dominick said Derrion was always a smart boy. The type of person who always smiled, and was always there for her when she needed someone to talk to.

Chief Tina M. Skahill of the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategies (CAPS) office said police are working to partner with different neighborhood anti-violence organizations as well as school administrators to minimize the existing conflicts in these neighborhoods and high schools.

At Final Call press time, four teenagers, 19-year-old Silvonus Shannon, 18-year-old Eugene Riley, 17-year-old Eugene Bailey and 16-year-old Eric Carson have all been charged with first-degree murder and are in jail. Police are still asking for anyone with additional information regarding those involved in the beating death to come forward.

Responding to accusations that the police were slow to the scene of the melee and reports that the initial responders did not immediately intervene, embattled Chicago Police Supt. Jody P. Weis, said the first 911 call arrived at 2:53 p.m., a car was dispatched at 2:55 p.m. and arrived at the scene one minute later at 2:56 p.m.

At Derrion Albert's funeral, Supt. Weis told The Final Call that they are doing everything they can, working diligently redeploying officers and reorganizing patrols when needed in the area around Fenger high school and in many other areas of the city.

Eyewitnesses and law enforcement officials said up to 50 people could have been involved in the clash. Speaking to the press on Sept. 28, Chicago police spokesman Dana Starks said many high schools around the city of Chicago, including Fenger, have neighborhood rivalries that lead to these types of conflicts. Since the fight was spread over a four or five block radius, there were several different violent flashpoints, and details are still being sorted out and tensions remain high, he said.

A vigil that was to be held on Sept. 26, just two days after Derrion's death was cancelled because of fear of retaliation, and a makeshift memorial placed at the location of his death consisting of cards, posters, stuffed animals and flowers was set on fire the night after it was erected.

Nationwide Attention

Hip hop artist Nas wrote “An Open Letter to the Young Warriors in Chicago” decrying the death of Derrion. Bow Wow posted a two-minute YouTube video titled “Stop the Violence and Increase the Peace.”

After watching the video of Derrion Albert being killed, in a heartfelt blog entry, actress Reagan Gomez-Preston wrote:

“Our kids are pi--ed off and frustrated. Momma is working two and three jobs, struggling to keep it together, and kids are left on their own. This isn't a new problem. We know this.” She goes on to ask, “Do we know who started the fight? Does it matter? I know what I saw on the tape. When you're in that rage, it's all, emotional. You just wanna fight the closest thing to you. And most of the time, it's someone who looks just like you. And guess what? They're going through the same thing you're going through.”

Since Derrion's death, there has been an increased police presence in the area of the high school, however, students said even with stepped up police patrols, they don't feel safe. Many believe it is only a matter of time before another chaotic and perhaps deadly brawl takes place.

“They (police) sit in their car with their sirens going off telling everybody to get away from the school but it seems like once it gets off of school grounds, they don't really care about what else happens,” said 17-year-old Fenger high school student Bonnie Fitts.

On Sept. 30, approximately 200 concerned parents met at Sheldon Heights Church of Christ which is located less than a mile away from Fenger. Parents heard from principal Elizabeth Dozier, 34th Ward Alderman Carrie Austin, Chicago Public Schools CEO Ron Huberman, Mike Shields, director of safety and security for Chicago Public Schools and Chief Skahill. Derrion's aunt, Rose Braxton, spoke briefly to the media along with Ameena Matthews of CeaseFire, a conflict mediation and prevention group. Rev. Jesse Jackson of Rainbow/PUSH was also present to lend support to the family.

Ms. Dozier, who has been the principal at Fenger for just one month, said, “There are many kinds of facets to the solution, and we all play a really integral part.” Ms. Dozier said she will be working very closely with the parents and staff of Fenger, along with officials from the Chicago Police Department and Chicago Public Schools to maintain a safe environment for the students.

Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown said stopping the crime and violence in Chicago should be the “main focus” of the police department and proactive ways to maintain a safe learning environment for youth must be “stepped up” by the Chicago Public Schools.

“It is my hope that the same fervor that we sought to get the 2016 Olympics be put towards saving our youth because our youth are our future and we must do everything we can to stop this violence,” said Ms. Brown. “We are losing valuable young men and women like Derrion Albert, an honor roll student, a very sensitive young man—it is a travesty that he had to lose his life in this way.”

According to Mr. Huberman, who presides over the third largest school system in the country, more can be done in all areas to prevent these types of tragedies and officials are working hard to find the right answer. One such program is the “Safe Passage” program, launched at 38 of Chicago's high schools that represent approximately 80 percent of all incidents of violence involving students. In this plan, the Chicago Police Department, the CTA and principals of the high schools will analyze gang territories, school boundaries and police district boundaries to determine routes that students will be able to use that would be adequately resourced in order to be considered safe for passage.

Additionally, Mr. Huberman said, using portions of $30 million in stimulus money, CPS will be providing nine school buses to transport students to Fenger high school safely.

“This funeral becomes another symbol of the breakdown of society. We have failed, we all share in this failure and in this death. This is blood crying out from the ground like Abel. If we do not respond to this, then the blood of every child (lost) is going to be on our hands,” said Father Michael Pfleger of the Faith Community of St. Sabina.

Derrion's mother An-Janette Albert, speaking through tears, thanked everyone for their outpouring of love for her fallen son.

“It was beautiful; it was wonderful,” said Ms. Albert. “You just don't know how many people care about you.”

Ms. Albert says now, almost two weeks later, she still can't find adequate words to describe how she felt when she heard that her son was dead.

“I still don't know how I feel. It still hasn't really sunk in yet that he is gone,” Ms. Albert told The Final Call.

Related Story:

We must all be activists to stop youth violence (FCN, 10-05-2009)

Monday, October 05, 2009

10/7/2009 @ 9PM CST*W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio: Getting Stoned For The Cause With Jamie Foxx's "Blame It" Author & Rap Sensation N8 Walka & Nyah Nile!

Celebrating 2 Full Years In The Biz: Ain't No Stopping Us Now!!!

October 2009 Theme: AND THE BEAT GOES...

Air Date: Weds. October 7, 2009

E-mail: r2c2h2@gmail.com

Time:

9 PM C/10 PM E/7 PM P

Call-in Number: 646-652-4593

Listen To The Show:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2009/10/08/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio

*Topic* Getting Stoned For The Cause: Exclusive Preview Of The 2009 Stone Awards

Featured & Honorable Guests:

N8 Walka, Indie Rap Sensation & Author Of Jamie Foxx's Hit "Blame It"

"Blame It" Songwriter Nate Walka Clear's The Air On Who Wrote The Damn Song from Gyant on Vimeo.

About N8 Walka
Indie recording artist Nate (N8) Walka is what some would call different, but being different is what keeps this young talent motivated. After releasing his first released mixtape NATE OBAMA, Nate Walka introduces THE INAUGURATION. Reminiscent of the sounds of Kanye West and NERD, this Memphis born rapper, singer, song writer, and producer fuses together up beat and energetic tracks like “Crazy” and “My World” that are very much retro 80’s meets Hip Hop. Teamed up with SHWAYZE, from MTV’s Buzzin’, Nate Walka will be on tour starting in San Francisco promoting upcoming single “CrAzY“ as well as his new mixtape. After landing his first placement with Jamie Foxx’s new upcoming release “Blame it on the Alcohol” ft. T -Pain, when asked about his music Nate says, he likes to try out new sounds and styles and then combine them. “I want to keep the attention of my listeners so I present them with a good variety. Each track has a different feel.” Not only does Nate mix various styles together he also allows genres to mingle on tracks like, “I’m on Fiyahh” Rock and Hip Hop are sharing this stage. A few projects that Nate is currently working on are completing his debut album along with working with the new group signed under the Neptunes label, Chester French.

You can download THE INAUGURATION @ www.myspace.com/n8walka

***

Memphis Media Personality & 2009 Stone Awards Hostess Sis. Nyah Nile

About Nyah Nile
“The Stone Awards is truly an opportunity like no other it has opened countless doors for me…. I treasure the vision the Stone Awards has for the community & feel blessed to be working with such an incredible producer & staff!” – Nyah

Goals and Ambitions: My goals are set towards currently pursuing my dreams in a cohesive career as a TV personality and model. I also have a passion for the youth and the homeless and hope to start my own non-profit organization someday. Until then, I currently volunteer free time to other non-profit organizations such as Stone Awards Committee, House of Mtenzi, & UCAN Youth Development.

Strengths: I am a leader and love breaking the mold! I am unique, yet effortless. My confidence & courageousness as always kept me in a position ready to lead others.
Talents: TV or Event Host, Modeling (promotional, commercial, print), Event Coordinating, Veterinary Animal Health Care, & Emergency Health Care.

Qualifications: I am proud to say I am The Event Coordinator for The 14th Annual Stone Awards. I am also a Certified Veterinary Technician (CVT), Certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), and Red Cross First Aid Certified. I also have Special Training in AHA CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care.

To Read Some Of Sis. Nyah's Articles For The Memphis Tri-State Defender Please Access The Following Link:
http://tri-statedefenderonline.com/articlelive/authors/281/Nyah-Nile

***

Video: Stone Awards Hostess & Coordinator Nyah Nile Talks About The Big Event On Memphis Fox 13's "Good Morning Memphis"

About The 2009 Stone Awards:

ALERT!!! October 17th at Pink Palace Museum 3050 Central Avenue Memphis, TN 38111 FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 901-690-2883!!! The awards show will begin with a pre-awards show Red Carpet Gala Concert Event starting at 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm in the Pink Palace Mansion Theater; starting time for the Stone Awards Show Ceremony is 7:00 pm in the Pink Palace IMAX Theater. Saturday night, October 17th at 10:00 pm will be The Stone Awards After Party. On Sunday, October 18th at noon - 5:00 pm will be The 3rd Annual Forgotten Soul Festival held at House of Mtenzi 1289 Madison Avenue Memphis, TN 38104

The Stone Awards honors the most outstanding community leaders, business leaders and entertainers in the Memphis Metropolitan area. The award recognizes those individuals, businesses and organizations that not only supported their individual heavy “Stone” through personal and professional accomplishments, but also the “Stones” of the community, with pride & grace. This year, there will be a dedication reenactment skit to honor the late great Dr. Ernest Withers, Activist/Photographer.

The Junior Achievement Stone Awards honors our inner city youth accomplishments & endeavors. Their education & talents must emerge through their community service and exemplify accountability in order to be awarded. The JAS Awards is the first step on the ladder of achievement to become a Most Outstanding leader. Raising the bar is the mission’s goal.

The Forgotten Soul Festival is to bring our community leaders, businesses, & organizations together to help with the support and care for the less fortunate & homeless. Our Community leaders join together & lend a helping hands distributing food, clothing, toiletries, inspiration, entertainment, health screenings, and counseling to those in need. All donations & proceeds from the Annual Stone Awards help fund The JAS Awards & The Forgotten Soul Festival.

Stone Awards Categories

The winners are chosen by the community through online voting at http://www.stoneawards.org and paper ballets distributed throughout the community.

1.Most Outstanding Politician.
2.Most Outstanding News Broadcaster.
3.Most Outstanding Gospel Community Choir or Group.
4.Most Outstanding Radio Personality.
5.Most Outstanding Publication (Magazine/News Publication).
6.Most Outstanding Community Activist.
7.Most Outstanding Corporation/Organization.
8.Most Outstanding Recording Artist or Group (R&B, Neo Soul and Blues).
9.Most Outstanding Clergy/Pastor/Minister.
10.Most Outstanding Independent Film Maker/Director.
11.Most Outstanding Educator.
12.Most Outstanding Doctor/M.D./P.H.D./Counselor.

****
Want More???

Want To Hear More Tha Artivist Presents…W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio??? Click On The Following Link:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe

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